Idaho officials Wednesday morning halted the execution of the man who murdered five people because they couldn’t insert an IV into his arm to give him the drugs to kill him.

Thomas Eugene Creech, 73, was set to die Wednesday, but prison officials said they stopped the process when three different medical professionals tried eight times to stick the IV into him but failed, Idaho Department of Corrections Director Josh Tewalt told reporters afterward. They tried in Creech’s arms, legs, hands and feet. The warden halted the execution just before 11 a.m.

Officials began the lethal injection process hours after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue a stay to halt the execution. But after the failed attempt, his lawyers filed another emergency motion for an immediate stay of execution.

“Given the badly botched execution attempt this morning, which proves IDOC’s inability to carry out a humane and constitutional execution, undersigned counsel preemptively seek an emergency stay of execution to prevent any further attempts today,” his attorneys said.

1. Home
2. Daily News
3. Federal appeals judge, 96, fails to overturn…

Judiciary

Federal appeals judge, 96, fails to overturn suspension order for refusing to cooperate in fitness probe

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 7, 2024, 3:32 pm CST

A 96-year-old federal appeals judge who refused to cooperate with medical testing to determine her mental fitness for the bench has failed to persuade a reviewing body that she is entitled to resume deciding new cases.

The U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability ruled Wednesday against Judge Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Newman was suspended from hearing new cases for a year in September 2023. The judicial council of the Federal Circuit imposed the suspension because Newman refused to submit to medical evaluations, provide medical records and sit for an interview. Newman had cited the opinions of her doctors, who say she is fit for the job.

The Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability affirmed the judicial council’s order.

The committee rejected Newman’s argument that the case should have been moved to another circuit, finding that the transfer decision is discretionary. It rejected Newman’s argument that rule violations by the council justified her failure to cooperate. And it rejected her contention that she was denied due process.

“Here, Judge Newman was afforded all the process she was due under the rules,” the committee said.

The committee also cited “voluminous evidence” justifying the order for medical testing. Affidavits and Newman’s emails illustrate interactions “that suggest memory loss, confusion, lack of comprehension, paranoia, anger, hostility, severe agitation and an inability to perform tasks that Judge Newman previously could perform with ease,” the committee said.

The committee also concluded that the one-year suspension of new case assignments, subject to renewal, was appropriate.

“Although the sanction is subject to renewal, unlike other suspensions, Judge Newman has the power to trigger reconsideration or modification if she decides to cooperate,” the Feb. 7 opinion said.

Law360, Bloomberg Law and Reuters have coverage of the opinion.

Bloomberg Law included a comment from Newman’s lawyer, Greg Dolin of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonprofit civil rights organization.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed, but we intend to continue to press our claims” in a separate federal lawsuit pending in Washington, D.C., Dolin said.

The suit challenges the constitutionality of the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, which governs the proceedings against Newman.

Dolin said Newman is prepared to take her case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.

See also:

“Speaking at ABA meeting, federal appeals judge, 96, doesn’t address her suspension but mentions opinion pace”

“Investigations of federal judges are rare and should happen more, former clerk says”

“Federal circuit judge, 95, flunked security training, displayed hacking paranoia, exam order alleges”

“Lawyer for federal appeals judge barred from new cases finds orders ‘incredible’ and ‘stunning’”

“Federal appeals judge should be suspended for failing to cooperate in mental fitness probe, report says”

“How can aging judges know when it’s time to hang up the robe?”

“Weekly Briefs: 96-year-old judge must mediate suit to keep job; DOJ reverses stance on Trump shield”